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LCQ14: Fung Lok Wai project
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     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (July 10):

Question:

     The World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong (WWF) announced in May 2013 its decision to withdraw immediately from its partnership with the proponent of the Fung Lok Wai nature reserve project (Fung Lok Wai project) as the proposal of WWF to run the proposed Fung Lok Wai project on the Wetland Trust model had not been accepted by the authorities, and WWF was concerned that the conservation objectives set for this project could not be achieved should the project be rushed through. Some environmentalists have pointed out that the incident has aroused public concerns over the effects and feasibility of implementing the nature conservation policy under the mode of public-private partnership (PPP). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it has assessed the impact of WWF's withdrawal from the Fung Lok Wai project on the future conservation of Fung Lok Wai; if it has, of the results; how the authorities will follow up the project;

(b) why the Government did not accept WWF's proposal to run the Fung Lok Wai project on the Wetland Trust model and proposed instead that the land ownership to remain with the developer and the Environment and Conservation Fund to take up the fund and appoint a management agent for managing the wetland site;

(c) of the details concerning the PPP projects under the nature conservation policy, including the vetting criteria, procedures of vetting and execution, monitoring of the approved projects, the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved (including the Government and non-governmental organisations);

(d) of the respective numbers of PPP projects approved and being vetted at present, and the contents as well as the progress of such projects;

(e) as some environmentalists have pointed out that since the environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports of the Fung Lok Wai project have been approved, the authorities will not require another EIA to be conducted because of the withdrawal of the project proponent or the participating green group at the current stage, which may have impact on the development of the project, whether the authorities will make up for the existing inadequacies in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499); if they will, of the specific proposals; and

(f) how the authorities will prevent the recurrence of the aforesaid situation in which conflicts arise between commercial development and nature conservation in future PPP projects?

Reply:

President,

     Under the New Nature Conservation Policy (NNCP), a total of 12 priority sites of high ecological importance for enhanced conservation have been identified. Fung Lok Wai lies within one of these priority sites. Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme was launched to promote conservation of private land in these priority sites by allowing development of an agreed scale at the ecologically less sensitive portion of the site, provided that the project proponent undertakes to conserve and manage the rest of the site that is ecologically more sensitive on a long-term basis. To ensure sustainable support for the conservation of the ecologically sensitive areas under the PPP scheme, particularly after the completion of the approved developments, we promulgated a set of implementation arrangements in June 2011 and advised project proponents accordingly.

     In relation to the funding support for the long term conservation of the ecologically sensitive areas of projects under the PPP scheme, the project proponent will be required to provide an upfront lump sum sufficient to generate recurrent incomes to support the pledged conservation programmes to the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), which is established under the ECF Ordinance (Cap. 450). As a statutory trust, the ECF has in place a credible and publicly accountable mechanism for holding the lump sum amount provided by the project proponents. To ensure that the conservation works are properly conducted, the developers will also be required to identify competent bodies as their conservation agents to manage the ecologically sensitive portions of the concerned sites. The conservation agents will then apply for the necessary funding from the ECF for carrying out conservation projects and their performance will be monitored by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

     Our replies to Hon Chan's questions are as follows:

(a) The project is still going through various statutory and administrative approval processes including the Town Planning Ordinance. In the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the Fung Lok Wai project, which was approved in 2009, the project proponent has provided proposed conservation plans for the ecologically sensitive areas. It is the responsibility of the project proponent to fulfill the implementation arrangements including that on funding and the identification of a competent conservation agent as promulgated so that the objectives of NNCP could be achieved as it seeks for various approvals.

(b) The funding arrangement put forward by the project proponent of Fung Lok Wai development in its planning application does not conform to the funding arrangement promulgated by the Government in 2011. We consider that the proposed long-term maintenance and management plan suggested by the project proponent using a private trust arrangement does not provide for comparable assurance on long term viability of the conservation plan as compared to the arrangement promulgated by the Government which involves the ECF.

(c) Whether a particular proposal is feasible and should be taken forward as a PPP project has to be examined on its own merits, taking into account the net benefits of the proposals in enhancing conservation of the site, possible adverse environmental impacts, financial viability of the proposals, capability of and the long-term commitment of the proponent etc. To implement a selected PPP pilot project, the proponent is still required to fulfill the statutory requirements, where applicable, including application for change of land use zoning or application for planning permission in accordance with the Town Planning Ordinance, and acceptability of the environmental impacts as assessed under the EIA Ordinance.

(d) Apart from Fung Lok Wai, we are processing the application of PPP project for Sha Lo Tung under NNCP. The project is going through the EIA process. Submission of additional information from the project proponent is still pending.

(e) As stated in part (a) above, the Fung Lok Wai EIA report was approved on November 27, 2009. However in the event that there are material changes that affect environmental performance of the project, for example, changes to the proposed conservation plans, the project proponent would have to ensure that the requirements of the EIA Ordinance are complied with. Thus, the EIA Ordinance has already provisions in place to cater for changes that may affect the environmental performance requirements set out in the EIA report for a project. The project proponent will also need to identify a competent conservation agent as it seeks for approval for the proposed project under the PPP scheme.

(f) As stated above, the objective of PPP scheme is for promoting conservation of private land in priority sites. Apart from PPP, the Government has also launched the Management Agreement scheme to promote nature conservation on private land. Established mechanism has been put in place to promote nature conservation on ecologically important sites in private ownership and we will continue our efforts on this front.

Ends/Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:06

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